Man pleads guilty to possessing one of largest child porn collections ever found in Louisiana

NEW ORLEANS, LA (WAFB) - Federal prosecutors said a man, described by one official as "every parent's worst nightmare," who was found with one of the largest child porn collections ever seized in Louisiana, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges.

US Attorney Kenneth Polite said Robert Swan, 52, of Ponchatoula, admitted to his role in the sexual exploitation of children, including receiving pictures of children involved in sex acts.

"Robert Swan is every parent's worst nightmare," Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell said in a written release. "When our Cyber Crime Unit begins an undercover investigation, we never know how dangerous the person lurking on the other side of the computer will be. In this case, our forensic examination revealed that Swan not only possessed or shared half a million images depicting the sexual abuse of children, but also that he actually teamed up with another pedophile to abuse an innocent child."

According to court documents, agents seized 15 separate digital devices from Swan's home when they searched it on Jan. 30, 2013. Investigators said a review of the materials on those storage devices revealed digital evidence that Swan and an associate, Thomas Middleton, forced a then 3-year-old girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct and Swan recorded it. It is believed the recording happened in January 2010. Agents said there were images depicting infants as young as four weeks old being forced to engage in sexually explicit conduct.

Polite said Swan faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison. He added Swan could also be ordered to a lifetime of supervised release once he gets out of prison, up to a $250,000 fine and register as a sex offender. US District Judge Helen Berrigan is scheduled to hand down Swan's sentence on March 25, 2015. According to Polite, the sentencing terms for Swan are due to a 1987 conviction for lewd and lascivious assault of a minor in Florida.

"Robert Swan has been brought to justice for collecting over 500,000 images of child pornography, one of the largest collections ever seized in our state," Polite stated in a written release. "Our office, along with our federal and state law enforcement partners, will remain vigilant in fighting the sexual exploitation of our region's most vulnerable victims - our children."

Investigators said Swan downloaded, saved and catalogued the massive collection of images and videos between around May 2010 and January 2013.